Drying apparatus



Jan. 27, 1942. w. T. RUNALS DRYING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet l (N VE NTOR '1 116mm 202ml;

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BY AT ORNEYS Jan. 27, 1942. w. T. RUNALS 2,271,347

DRYING APPARATUS Filed March '7, 1938 S-ShQetS-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Jan. 27, 1942. w. T. RUNALS DRYING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR i/iZlzZam TEzz/zab ATTORNEYS Jan. 27, 1942. w. T. RUNALS 2,271,347

' DRYING-APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR I ATTORN EYS W. T. RUNAL-S DRYING APPARATUS Filed rch 7 1938 Jan. 27, 1942.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 27, 1942 name APPARATUS William T. Runals, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 7, 1938, Serial No.- 194,348

, Claims.

This invention relates to drying apparatus, and

more especially it relates to apparatus for drying continuous strip or sheet material.

The apparatus is of primary utility in the paper, textile and rubber industries for' dryin paper, fabric, webbing, and the like, that has been impregnated Q1 compounded with resinous materials, natural or artificial aqueous dispersions of rubber such as latex, or other impregnation, coating, compounding, or treating materials which have a tendency to adhere to drying rolls or drums. The invention is of especial utility in the impregnation of tire building fabric preparatory to the application of a skim coating of rubber to the fabric by the usual calendering operation, or in the impregnation and coating of tire building fabric with latex or other rubber or resinous compounds eliminating the calendering operation. a

The chief objects of the invention are to provide in an improved manner for the drying of fabric impregnated when rubber latex or resinous liquid compound; to effect the drying at the same speed that the fabric is impregnated and skim coated so that'these operations may be continuous; and to provide for the control of the hu midity of the drying medium. More specifically, the invention aims to provide drying apparatus wherein both sides of the coated or impregnated fabric are subjected to currentsof heated air at all times; to provide against fouling of the fabricsupporting means by the composition with which the fabric is impregnated; and to avoid marking or otherwise disturbing the deposit on the fabric. Other objects will be manifest as the sp'ecifica-. tion proceeds.

Of the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section through drying apparatus embodying one form of the invention, taken on the line l-I of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, with top removed, parts being broken away;

Figure 8 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a detail elevation of a feed roll employed in the apparatus .of Figures 6 and 7.

Referring to the drawings, a series of drying drums, generally designated 9, are in a closed Figure 4 is a detail sectional perspective view ll, above the latter.

chamber or housing ID, the latter consisting of side walls H, H, end walls l2, l2, and top l3,

said housing consisting of heat-insulating material and resting upon the floor I l.

Suitably journaled in bearings mounted upon the respective side walls II of the housing-J0 are horizontally disposed shafts I6, I 6 that are parallel to each other and arranged in two series at different elevations, the shafts of one series being in staggered relation to those of the other series. The adjacent ends of said shafts extend through one of the "side walls II, and are provided, exteriorly of the housing, with respective grooved sheaves or-pulleys l1, ll, there being an endless driving belt, chain, or rope l8 trained about said pulleys. Said driving belt also extends about a driving pulley I 9 and a pair of idler pulleys 20, 2| disposed in the plane of the pulleys The pulley I9 is mounted upon a shaft 22 with a sprocket 23 that is operatively connected, by sprocket chain 24, with a reduction gea'r device 25 that is driven by a motor 26 in the usual manner. It will be seen that the belt l8 passes about five pulleys 11, which is the number herein shown for one unit of the apparatus. The chamber It! may, however, house more than one unit of apparatus, and in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the shaft l6 and portion of pulley I! shown at the righthand end of the chamber belong to an adjacent unit of the apparatus. The drums of the second unit are provided with their own driving mechanism so that they may be driven at slower speed than the drums of the first unit to compensate 'for shrinkage of the material being dried, and any suitable mechanism (not shown) may be provided for maintaining the desired speed differential of the units, as will be understood. In like manner a third unit of apparatus may be positioned in the housingif desired. Furthermore, the arrangement of the drums in two horizontal series is not essential, and they may be disposed in two vertical series if desired.

Journaled upon the shafts l6, interiorly of the chamber III, are the respective hollow drums 9 that support the continuous web of impregnated fabric within the chamber, and feed said web lengthwise from the receiving end of the chamber, which is the left end thereof as viewed in the drawings, to the delivery end thereof. Said web is designated 21, and it enters the chamber through a slot 23 formed in'one end wall l2, and leaves the chamber by wayof a slot 29 formed in the other end wall. Because the drums are ar-I ;ranged in staggered relation, the fabric web travelsabout them in a devious course wherein opposite sides of the web alternately engage the surface of the'drum, theweb making contact with the drums only ,at local regions of its Surface;

Each of said hollow drums {comprises skeletonlike 'end members such as the spiders 3|, 3|, said spiders having annular rim portions that support a circumferential series of laterally V spaced apart fabric supporting members 32, 32.

As is shownmost clearly in Figure 4', the members 32 are metal channels, and they are so mounted that their leg portions extend outwardly.

7 erably of the extended heater is a blower fan .(not shown) that has a through pipes shown at es, es. Also within the drive shaft 33 driven'bya' motor 51, the latter being disposed exteriorly of the heater and connected with the shaft 33 by multiple driving belts Thus they have relatively small area of contact with the fabric strip 21, and are not readily fouled by the composition with which the fabric is impregnated. On drums remote from the inlet end of, the housing, the metal channels 32 frequently get so hot as to mar or mark the material with which the fabric is coated or 1111-,

pregnated, -this being especially true when the fabric is imlJregIm-ted'with latex. To prev inarking.or otherwise disturbing this soft latex on the fabric, the channels 32 of one or more of the drums carry inserts 33 of wood, fiber, or other material ofiow specific-heat, which inserts are disposed between the legs of the channels and are each formed with an upstanding, longitudinally extending, fabric-supporting rib 33' as shown in Figure 5. There is, a power-driven,

guide roll 3| within the chamber II, at the receiving end thereof, over which thefabric 21 Said belt also is trained about a pulley 39 mounted on shaft 35, about idler .pulleys 43, ll mounted 'in the plane of the pulleys 31 below the latter near the bottom of the chamber, and about a power driven "pulley 42. The latter is mounted upon a-shaft 43 that extends through the rear wall ll of the chamber and is provided, exteriorly of the latter, with a sprocket ll thatis operatively connected by sprocket chain 45 with a sprocket on a reduction gear device 46, the latter being driven in the usual manner by a motor 41.

The motor 41' drives the fabric supporting drums 9 in opposite direction to that which the motor 26 drives the shafts Ii. Each of the latter is provided with a pair'of brackets 53, 53 that comprise radial arms, the free ends of saidarms carryingwooden strlps or blades II that are It. The said-fan forces .air into the chamber I0 through an inlet duct 33 that. extends through the rear wallll of the chamber and discharges into a manifold orheader I that is-disposed interiorly of the chamber, at the top thereof, and extends longitudinally of the chamber along one-side thereof. From the header 0 branch pipes 3|. I! extend transversely across the chamher, over the upper drums and the guide roll 34,

and each branch-pipe is provided with a pair of delivery spouts u. n um are directed at said' drums and which extend longitudinally of said pipe. The arrangement is such that a plurality of.jets of heated air are directed against-the treated fabric carried on the surface of the upper seriesof drums. l 'rom the'header 63 a duct 64 extends downwardly to a header 85 that rests upon the floor. II, and is provided with branch pipes 3,33 that extendacross the chamber In,

beneath the respective drums of the lower series of dmms. Each branch pipe 66 is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending delivery spouts 61, 61, the arrangement being such 'asto direct a plurality of air jets against thefabric on the lower series of drums. "There are also ducts 68 emcee type), within the I heater, which sections are supplied with steam that extend from the upper and from the lower I headers and discharge heated air tangentially against the fabric adjacent inlet slot 28 and outlet slot 29, the air being directed away from said slotsto prevent loss of heat therethrough.

To conserve. heat and preserve the proper humidity,- the air within the chamber III is recir- 40 culated through the latter and through the heater, and. to this end there is provided an outlet duct 63 that extends from the interior of the a chamber to the inlet side of the heater. Also opening into this side of the heater is an inletduct 10 through which fresh air may be introduced into the heating system, if and when de sired. Communicating with duct 69 is an evacuating duct ll within which is mounted a suction fan (not shown), the shaft 12 of said fan being driven by means of a motor- 13 through the '-agencyof a transmission belt 14. The arrangeparallel to shafts l6, interiorly of the provided outsidethe chamber. at the rear thereof, therebeing steam sections (not shown but prefment permits control of the humidity of the air within the chamber in, a portion of the air being withdrawn from the chamber 'and' discharged when its humidity exceeds the desired maximum.- When the chamber It includes more than one unit of fabric carrying drums, an additional heating unit is provided for each additional drum It is believed that the operation of the apparatu's readily will be understood from the foregoing description thereof. The impregnated web 'moves uninterruptedly through the chamber without fouling or sticking to the elements that support and feed it, and the deposit on the web 'is not disturbed or mutilated. Drying of the deposit in a humid atmosphere avoids the formation of checks and cracks therein, the humidity of the air being the result of evaporation of water from the deposited composition. The feature of subjecting both faces of the impregnated fabric concurrently to currents of heated air 'expedites the drying of the deposit. This makes it possible to dry the web in apparatus of relatively short length, and at such speed that it is possible to interpose the drying apparatus between the impregnating apparatus anda calender or other apparatus for effecting further treatment of the fabric, and to feed the fabric therethrough in a and feeding elements that engage any region of of the apparatus and hence more likely'to be marred or damaged.

As shown in Figure 6, the two drums, designated 9 9" that are nearest the fabric inlet slot 28 are stationarily mounted, although the brackets 50 and blades therein rotate in the same manner as in the previously described embodiment through the agency of the driving belt l8. Each of the drums 9 comprises skeletonlike end members such as the spiders 16 I6, and journaled in said spiders are shafts I1, 11 upon which feed rollers 18, 78 are mounted. The latter need not constitute a complete circumferential series, but only require to be located in those regions of the drums that will be traversed by the fabric 2'! as it passes in a devious course about the successive drums. The rollers "are driven at the same surface speed as the drums 9, and to this end the drive means of the latter is utilized for driving the feed rollers 18.

The drums 9 are driven by the endless driving belt or rope 38 as in the'previously described embodiment, said belt being'trained about the various pulleys as shown, one of said pulleys, designated 19, being mounted upon a shaft 80 that is disposed adjacent the stationary drums 9 9 Also mounted upon shaft 80 is a sprocket I 8|, Figure '7, and trained about the latter is a sprocket chain 82 that also passes about a series of sprockets 83 that are mounted upon the shafts I! that carry the feed rollers TI on the upper stationary drum 9 Also mounted upon shaft 80, beside sprocket BI, is a sprocket 85, Figure '7,

ribs 95. Since the rollers 18 are driven at substantial speed, (to feed the fabric at about yards a minute) it will be seen that the contact of the ribs 95 with the fabric, at any one spot, is practically momentary, the points of contact constantly progressing obliquely with relation to the length of the fabric. Thus it will be seen that no point on the impregnated fabric remains long enough in contact with a rib 95 for the deposit thereon to become marred or disturbed,

notwithtsanding the moist, soft nature of the deposit in this region of the apparatus. The helical ribs 95 are so disposed with relation to the direction of rotation of the feed rollers that they exert a desirable tentering effect upon the fabric, but this effect is not ancillary to the primary purpose of the ribs.

Other modifications may be resorted to without departing from th spirit of the invention, or the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1; Apparatus for drying a continuous moving web of wet material, said apparatus comprising a hollow, stationary drum, a circumferential series of feed rollers journaled therein for supporting and feeding said web, means for rotating said feed rollers in unison independently of the feed of the web and at the same surface speed as the latter, helically arranged ribs on said feed rollers constituting the sole web-engaging means, and means for circulating a gaseous drying medium interiorly and exteriorly of the drum.

2. Apparatus for drying a continuous moving web of wet material, said apparatus comprising a stationary drum, a circumferential series of feed rollers journalled therein for supporting and feeding said web, means for-rotating said feed rollers in unison independently of the feed of the web and at substantially the same surface and trained about the latter is an endless sprocket chain that extends about a sprocket 81 on a countershaft 88, over an idler sprocket 89, and about a sprocket 90 mounted upon the shaft 35 that carries guide roller 34. Also mounted upon countershaft 88 is a sprocket 9| about whichis trained a sprocket chain 82, the latter also passing about the lower drum 9 in driving relation with sprockets I33 on the shafts that carry the feed rollers 18 of said drum. The arrangement is such that when drums 9 are rotated by the driving belt 38, the feed rollers 18 of the two stationary drums 9, and the guide roller 34 are rotated in the proper direction and at the proper speed to feed the impregnated i'abspeed as the latter, helical ribbed means formed on said feed rollers and forming the sole web engaging means therefor, and means for circulating a gaseous drying medium around the drum.

8. Apparatus for drying a continuous moving web of wet material, said apparatus comprising a stationary substantially annular frame positioned at the portion of the apparatus first contacted by said web, a series of feed rollers journailed on said frame at circumferentially spaced points for supporting and feeding said web, said feed rollers having helical ribs thereon disposed in reverse pitch from the center of said feed rollers to spread and smooth out said web and form a minimum contact area between said feed rollers and said web, means for rotating said feed rollers in unison, and means for circulating a gaseous drying medium around said frame.

4. A paratus as in claim 1 wherein a rotatable drum is provided to receive the web of material from said stationary drum, said rotatable drum comprising a circumferential series of spaced members disposed parallel to the axis of the said drum, and filler strips for supporting the web of material, said strips being composedof material of low specific heat and carried by the respective members and being adapted to make only line contact with the web.

5. Apparatus for drying a continuous moving web of wet material, said apparatus comprising two stationary, substantially vertically aligned cylindrical frames, a series of feed rollers journallezion said frames on the lower portion of the lower frame and the upper portion of the upper frame to enable the web or material topass therearound in the form of a figure 8, said feed rollers having helical ribs thereon disposed in reverse pitch irom'the center of said feed rollers to spread and smooth out said web, means for rotating said feed rollers in unison, rotatable drums positioned adjacent said frames to receive the web of material therefrom, circumferential series of circumferentially spaced means carried by said rotatable drums, said means being constructed and arranged to supportthe web of material and have only line contact therewith, and means for circulating a ,gaseous drying medium around said frames and drums to--dry the web of material.

WILLIAMT. RUNALS.

I CERTIFICATE. OF OORRECTIO){,.. v Pi n up... 2 71,5h7- J n ary 27, 19 2-.-

WILLIAM '1'. RUNALS.

It ieherebytertiijied thet ar a -pears. in the pr inted specification or the above zmmbered patent, rewiring correctieq asifollows: Page}, sec- 0nd column, line 16, for "not? madon1 and that the saidvLtters Patent should be read with thifcoi'x ectien therein that the same may co nform to the rec'orq of the, case in the Patent Office.

Signed epd sealed this 214th day of Ha pch, A. D. 1914.2.

x Henry Vale Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissio'ner of Patents. 

